The ERP - Introduction

- Software solution that address all the needs of an enterprise with the process view of an organisation to meet organizational goal and integrate all the functions of the enterprise.

- ERP is a package with the techniques and concepts for the integrated management of business as a whole, for effective use of management resources, to improve the efficiency of an enterprise.

- Initially, ERP was targeted for manufacturing industry mainly for planning and managing core business like production and financial market. As the growth and merits of ERP package ERP software is designed for basic process of a company from manufacturing to small shops with a target of integrating information across the company.

- ERP is a term coined in the early 1990s. It began as a group of applications or software focused on combining multiple systems in to one integrated system where data could be shared across the enterprise, presumably reducing redundant data entry and processes.

- It was originally proposed for manufacturing and production planning. Almost any discussion of enterprise resource planning starts with material requirement planning (MRP) and MRP II systems of the 1970s and 1980s.

- In the manufacturing environment of old, the ability to produce the product was the focus. As manufacturing evolved over time, the number of difficult questions increased. Such questions largely focused on the areas of component procurement for the finished product and on strong the material necessary to make the products. Organizations were trying to understand both the finished manufacturing totals and how to get to the finished product.

- MRP II added a focus on the planning aspects of this processes these system integrated capacity, design engineering and management, cost and long range planning of the enterprise in to the equation.

- Many organizations that implemented this approach instituted mechanisms to correlate the planning and forecasting process with the actual production numbers this allowed the organization to achieve higher level of over all efficiency in the manufacturing arena.

- The real issue is that while the organization had a better handle on the manufacturing aspect of the business, it was still missing integration to other components of finance, sales, marketing, customer satisfaction and distribution to name a few.

- A fundamental feature of the package is a high level of integration, with all applications sharing a single corporate database. The system is designed for an on-line client/server environment.

- A high level of application functionality, richly configurable to the needs of the individual customer is an important objective embedded in the package. The package is also intended to provide best practice, in a global sense, through a range of standardized business processes.

- ERP is an industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi-module application software that help a manufacturer or other business mange the important parts of its business, including product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking orders.

- ERP cans also include application modules for the human resources aspects of a business. Typically, an ERP system uses or is integrated with a relational database system.

- ERP is massive software engine that seeks to provide one seem less interface to all departments, systems and existing data with in organization sp that each department understands how it fits with in the organizations macro structure and how it impacts that macro structure. Such understanding in crucial in facilitating enhanced communication between departments, better knowledge management, and improved processes. Such enhancement is the foundation for fundamental business changes.

- ERP sits between all of the systems and users regardless of where they are in the pipeline. It knows all the different data collection points, and it must interface with all the different formats of the particular data.

- It also intelligently routes the order to the appropriate department at the appropriate time; reducing the number of times a human has to enter data can dramatically reduce errors. ERP also takes all the data and formats it so that each department can perform its required function.

- Today, ERP has gone beyond its original limits to evolve into ‘extended ERP’ Extended ERP includes (Customer Relation management) CRM and Supply chain management applications. Although there is a huge focus on the technological aspects of an ERP deployment, there must be an equal focus on changing the way an organization functions. Deploying ERP for the sake of ERP can be dangerous.

- ERP is not simply reengineering systems; it is reengineering the way organizations do business. While the benefits of ERP an impressive, deploying an ERP system is a major undertaking for any organization. Some of the real issues that occur during an ERP deployment center on job function.

- Changing the mentality of the organization’s employee is critical to changing the business process. The organization will spend millions of dollars in time, software, and hardware with negligible results.